Tension ebbs in Maguindanao town where Army, MNLF men clashed

COTABATO CITY — Tension in Datu Piang town in Ma—guindanao has waned following last week’s skirmishes there between soldiers and members of the Moro National Liberation Front, which left two soldiers and nine MNLF members dead and displaced more than 400 Muslim families.

Local sectors are now urging that MNLF leaders and their counterparts in the military be reoriented on the intricacies of the Sept. 2, 1996 peace agreement to prevent a repeat of the hostilities.

Cotabato City Mayor Mus—limin Sema, the MNLF’s secretary-general, said they are open to continuing dialogues with the Army’s 6th Infantry Division to discuss joint efforts on how to enhance relations between military and MNLF forces in potential flashpoint areas.

Sema said efforts are now underway to convince the MNLF leader in Datu Piang, Abdu—rahman Basco Totin, to agree to a peaceful settlement.

Totin has declared war against the government following the military’s bombardment of their territory which resulted in the deaths of nine of his followers.

Earlier, Col. Triponio Salazar, commander of the Army’s 301st Infantry Brigade, said the hostilities in Barangay Kitango in Datu Piang erupted after Totin’s group opened fire on soldiers sent to pacify two armed factions squabbling for control of arable land in the area.

Totin chairs the MNLF’s Sedepan Kutawato State Committee, which has jurisdiction over the front’s members in Datu Piang and the surrounding towns.

The MNLF territory in Datu Piang is a "zone of peace" where foreign donors, including the United Nations Development Program, have been implementing socio-economic programs since 1996 in support of the peace accord.

Sema said the MNLF’s 15 other state chairmen are willing to help resolve the Datu Piang conflict through peaceful means.

"They do not want any escalation of hostilities there," Sema said.

Alano Bansawan, chairman of the MNLF’s Central Kutawato State Committee, said their commanders in Datu Piang and other parts of Central Mindanao and their military counterparts have to be reoriented on the provisions of the 1996 truce which underscores cooperation in maintaining peace and order in hostile areas.

Bansawan said certain provisions of the peace agreement also outlines how the military and the MNLF should cooperate in neutralizing security threats in areas where MNLF forces are located.